Round Barn

Most round barns were built from 1900-1920, primarily in the Northeast and west through Wisconsin. Now only a handful of true round barns, or barrel barns, remain in the United States. Of the three remaining barrel barns in Pennsylvania, one is alive and well in Adams County. This spectacular structure was built by the Noah Sheely family in 1914. The barn has a circumference of 282 feet, and is constructed around a central silo measuring 60 feet high and 12 feet wide. The silo acts as a “hub” with 38 spokes that form the interior structure and support for the second floor, which offers an incredible view of the roof. The barn was originally constructed to house cattle and horses, but now houses a Farm Market. The Round Barn Farm itself also has a place in the history of the apple industry in Adams County, as the site of one of the first large commercial apple acreages (2,000 trees). Today the Knouse’s, who have been growing fruit for multiple generations, operate the Round Barn Farm Market and surrounding farm.

The South Mountain Partnership is managed as a public-private partnership by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

This website was financed in part by a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, the Environmental Stewardship Fund, under the administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.